


an absolute truth

by professortennant



Category: The Worst Witch - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Personality Change Potion, Potions, True Love Breaks the Spell, episode speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 14:59:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13526697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/professortennant/pseuds/professortennant
Summary: “I do apologize for the frenzied mirror call, Miss Pentangle, but the potion’s antidote is very clear: the person who knows Hecate best must be the one to remind her of her True Self.”





	an absolute truth

Ada greeted her at the wide, imposing entrance of Cackle’s Academy, her brow furrowed and worry etched into every line of her face. Pippa didn’t waste any time with formalities, not when Hecate needed her help. 

She reached for Ada’s outstretched hand as she vanished her broom with a flick of her wrist. “Where is she, Ada?” Her voice was steady and didn’t betray the rapid beating of her heart or the fear that urged her here.

The two witches walked swiftly through the school’s halls. “We had to restrain her in her quarters. She was causing quite the ruckus in her current state.” Ada turned an apologetic look towards Pippa, leading them down the final stretch of hallway to Hecate’s quarters. “I do apologize for the frenzied mirror call, Miss Pentangle, but the potion’s antidote is very clear: the person who knows her best must be the one to remind her of her True Self.”

“You didn’t try to convince her yourself? I would have thought you--”

“She kept asking for you, dear.’

Despite the circumstances, the words warmed her. Even with twenty years of pain and misunderstanding, she was still the one who knew Hecate Hardbroom. No amount of time could wipe away every piece of knowledge she had filed away about Hecate’s preferences and mannerisms. 

She picked up the pace, Hecate’s door only a few feet away now. Ada stopped her with a hand on her arm. “She’s not herself, Miss Pentangle. Don’t take what she says to heart.” 

Pippa smiled softly at her. “It’s still her. I take everything she says to heart.”

With a deep breath and a last look at Headmistress Cackle, Pippa pushed open the door and entered Hecate’s quarters, the door shutting close behind her with a resounding thud.

 

The woman standing at the window was Hecate and yet, not. Where her Hecate’s hair would be pulled back in a severe bun, this woman’s hair flowed freely over shoulders and down her back, a tousled and tumbled wave. Pippa’s twitched and itched with the urge to comb her fingers through her hair.

Where her Hecate would wear lengthy gowns and high collars, this woman wore form-fitting black pants and a black button down. Pippa let her eyes linger at the peek of skin between the buttons; the gentle curve of her hip; the long, lean line of her legs. 

Before Pippa could get much further into the room, before she could linger on the curves and skin longer than she already had, Hecate crossed the room with a broad smile on her face, arms outstretched and reaching for Pippa. 

The embrace, so unlike their formal greetings, was warm and welcoming and Pippa allowed herself a moment to sink into Hecate’s arms, her fingers curling into the fabric of her loose shirt. 

Hecate turned her face into Pippa’s neck and murmured, “Finally. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

The feel of Hecate’s lips brushing against the sensitive skin of her neck caused her to shiver and she pulled away, holding Hecate at arm’s length. Without thinking, she tugged playfully at a lock of hair, tucking it behind Hecate’s ear. 

“Ada called me. Said you’ve been making more trouble than the First Years and Mildred Hubble combined.” She raised an eyebrow at Hecate’s jutted jaw of defiance, trying not to smile. “That doesn’t sound like the Hecate I know.”

Hecate frowned pulling away from Pippa and pacing agitatedly around her quarters, hands wringing in front of her and absentmindedly fiddling with a loose thread on her shirt. “That Hecate,” she spits, voice low, “wasn’t any fun.” 

The frown is gone as quickly as it came and Hecate is back to bouncing back towards her, grinning slyly and tugging at her arm, “C’mon, Pipsqueak. There’s secrets in this castle just waiting for two powerful witches--for us--to unlock.” 

There’s a magic--Hecate’s magic--thrumming beneath her skin and she recognizes the persuasion spell for what it is and she gasps, the feel of her magic pressed against her own shocking her. Hecate laughs at her reaction and winks--winks--at her, before shrugging. “Worth a try.”

The sudden shift in emotions gives her whiplash and Pippa plants her feet even as Hecate works to pull her towards the door, Ada’s magic preventing her from even nearing the handle. She growled in frustration and hit the door, cursing under her breath. 

“Hecate, what are you talking about? You’re plenty of fun. If I remember correctly, it was you who dragged me out of bed so we could sneak up to the North tower and drink hot cocoa because you wanted to watch Halley’s Comet...” 

She remembers that night as if it were yesterday; it’s still a memory she holds dear. The way Hecate looked with her hair in a loose bun, the mischievous spark in her eye as she led Pippa down to the kitchens for cocoa then up to the tower, the feel of Hecate pressed against her shoulder to toe as they gazed at the impossibility of the stars. 

Hecate’s agitated pacing and baleful glares at the magicked door draw her from the memory and she sighs, reaching out to stop her friend’s movements with a hand on her arm. There’s a ferocity in her eyes that Pippa isn’t used to seeing; Hecate’s eyes normally so shielded, so guarded.

“You know this isn’t you, Hecate.”

The dark-haired witch shakes her head, “It’s a better me, Pipsqueak. I’m better this way. You could--you could--”

Pippa tilts her head, “I could, what?”

“You could be proud to be seen with me.”

The confession is said so quietly but it echoes in the room as if she’d shouted it and Pippa’s heart cracks in her chest. In her confession, Pippa hears years of self-doubt and insecurities, words she must have told herself over and over again until she believed it. 

Something loosens in Hecate at that moment and this Hecate has no problem voicing her emotions, lets it all come tumbling out as she runs a hand through her hair, eyes darting about the room.

“I’m not enough, Pippa. You know that. I’m strange and awkward and I don’t make friends easily. I’m not enough, I’m not enough, I’m not--”

Hecate’s voice cracks and Pippa is there, hands cupping her face and forcing Hecate to look at her. She can see flashes of magic beneath Hecate’s eyes as the potion’s personality altering affects clash with Hecate’s true emotions and feelings. Pippa sees her moment and tightens her hold on Hecate’s face, thumbs brushing the sharp edges of her cheek. 

Hecate screws her face up at the touch and Pippa bites her lip, focuses on everything she knows and loves, loves, loves about the woman in her arms. 

“Hecate--Hiccup--you are enough; you’re more than enough.” Hecate tries to pull away, doesn’t want to hear Pippa’s words but she holds fast, doesn’t let her go--not this time.

“You’re my best friend. You’re the girl who showed me how to braid my hair and the girl who brought me peppermint tea when I was too sick to go to class. You’re Hecate Hardbroom. You love Charlotte Brontë and candles and you keep a stash of chocolate in your bedside table. You stuttered the first time you called me Pipsqueak because I’m the only person you’ve ever given a nickname.”

Hecate’s fingers wrap around Pippa’s wrists and she tries to pull away, a faint golden-orange aura emanating from her as Pippa reminds her of each of her quirks, of the Hecate she knows. But Pippa holds fast, lets herself become overwhelmed and immersed in nothing but memories of Hecate. 

“You have to sleep by the window in any room you’re in and the Craft and Code means everything to you. You’re one of the most protective people I know and no matter how you present yourselves to others, I know, you feel everything tenfold. You would sacrifice your happiness for the happiness of those you care about and Cackle’s Academy is one of the first times you’ve ever felt at home.”

The aura around Hecate was throbbing as if straining to lift itself from her. It just needed one more truth, one more absolute truth. She took a deep breath, stroked her fingers over Hecate’s cheeks and took a chance. 

“And I think--I know--you love me, even if you think you’re not supposed to. But you do and I love you, too, Hecate Hardbroom. And I want you--the real you--back.”

That did it. Hecate groaned as the golden-orange aura expanded and lifted from her body and she sagged forward into Pippa’s arms, shaking and trembling. Pippa closed her eyes, noting with surprise that a stray tear had tracked its way down her cheek, overwhelmed with emotion.

Her hands stroked over Hecate’s hair and back, calming, gentle strokes until Hecate stopped shaking. Over her shoulder, Pippa sees the bedroom door glow for a brief moment and knows the spells and restrictions have been truly lifted.

She sighs in relief and clutches Hecate to her a little tighter and drops a kiss to her temple, her lips a brief brush against warm skin. “Welcome back, Hiccup.”

Pippa knows this has cracked something open between them. There are more confessions, more truths, more secrets to share in the ensuing days. There are touches to exchange and first kisses to be had (and her lips and body tingle at the thought of Hecate--her Hecate--touching her, loving her, wanting her).

But for now, she will be content with the knowledge that Hecate is back, is hers, and they have all the time in the world.


End file.
